DFA: PHL not likely to issue travel advisory on Korea, for now

The Philippines is not inclined to issue a travel advisory on Korea amid ongoing tension between North and South Koreas, at least for now, a foreign affairs official said Wednesday. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya said the tension there is a "temporary phenomenon" based on DFA’s assessment. "We are not inclined to issue a travel advisory on Korea at this time. We are looking at this as a temporary phenomenon. If the situation suddenly improves, such a measure [would be] counterproductive," Malaya said in an interview on dzXL radio. He also said that while DFA is closely monitoring the situation, and that it sees no reason to halt deployment of Filipino workers to South Korea. "We are closely monitoring the situation…. Until we see a deterioration of the situation which we think is temporary, the deployment of Filipinos to South Korea will continue," he said. In a separate interview on dzBB radio, Malaya said there are around 6,000 Filipinos in South Korea. Most of them live in Seoul, far from the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong that was attacked by North Korea. "Wala tayong report na may Pilipino doon. Karamihan na Pilipino sa Seoul metropolitan region (We have no reports of Filipinos among the casualties or among those affected. Most Filipinos live in the Seoul metropolitan region)," Malaya said, adding OFWs there are working as professionals and factory workers. But in the meantime, he said the Philippine embassy there has taken precautionary measures and is in constant communication with Filipino community leaders. He said Philippine embassy officials there have reminded the Filipino community to "be prepared for any emergency, and keep communication lines open." Also, he said the embassy has advised Filipinos to stay away from the site of the conflict. On Tuesday, North Korea fired barrages of artillery on a South Korean island near disputed western border. The attack set buildings ablaze and killed at least two marines. — LBG, GMANews.TV